Jerusalem Arab Mother Rejoices Over Son's Death

Mother of 16-year-old Arab rioter who died from sponge round tells PA TV 'this is the first time I see joy in my heart.'

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Ari Yashar, 22/09/14 08:17

Jerusalem 'martyr' mother (file)

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Mohammed Abu Sankara (16) died two weeks ago on Sunday, a week after being wounded while participating in a violent riot in Jerusalem - and evidently nothing could have made his mother any happier.

Police say Sankara, whose name is sometimes spelled "Sunuqrut", was shot in the leg with a sponge round, then fell and hit his head as he ran away; they add that he was conscious as he was taken to the hospital. Sankara's family has alleged he was shot in the head at close range by the nonlethal sponge round.

But despite the accusations and ensuing round of renewed violent riots in the capital, Sankara's mother told official Palestinian Authority (PA) TV on September 12 "this is the first time I see joy in my heart. This is the first time I see such joy. Thank Allah for giving him martyrdom."

In the video, translated and exposed by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), the same kind of exuberant joy expressed by numerous other mothers of "martyrs" can be seen on display.

Mrs. Sankara follows a long line of tradition, including the mother of the 2001 Sbarro suicide bomber who murdered 15 and wounded 130, who said this April "congratulations, my son, on your martyrdom, praise Allah."

Likewise, the mother of suicide bomber Darin Abu Aisheh, who blew herself up in 2002 at an IDF checkpoint, said on TV "I want to sing, Darin is a bride."

Part of the reason for the happiness over the death of their children is the fact that "martyr" status is well rewarded by the PA, which has found legal loopholes to continue receiving funding from the West even as it directs massive sums to the families of jailed and dead terrorists.

And then there's the prestige.

PA Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash said last November "after prophecy and righteousness there is no status Allah has exalted more than martyrdom. ...The martyr - his sins are forgiven with the first gush of his blood from his wound...the martyr advocates on behalf of 70 members of his family, and saves them all from hell."